Question re: Sydney Opera House dress code

For those of you who have been to the Opera House, could you please inform me if people dress up? We are seeing a concert there with Olivia Newton John and wonder if my husband should wear a sports jacket and tie?

In California everything is very casual so I'm not sure what to expect.

Thank you,

Andrea

There in January. I'd skip the tie. Think more counrty club casual. WAVTAM

It's pretty casual here, I wouldn't fuss too much. Have you searched the opera house website?

A jacket and tie wouldn't be out of place, nor would nice jeans and a polo shirt, especially for a 'modern' concert.

The only events that might be a little 'dressy' are opening nights of the opera and other such galas.

Have a great time!

Regards,

Steve.

Thank you all for replying. I think smart casual will be the way to go and my husband will be glad to skip the tie. Yes, I've seen the website and am looking forward to our visit.

Ive been to quite a few concerts at the Opera House & "smart/casual" is definately the way to go.

Jane

Being an Australian myself I can tell you we are a cassual people...and we certainly would not be offended by anything you chose to wear. So relax and enjoy the Opera House...

We are looking forward to our cruise and visit to the Opera House.

If you get the chance, take the backstage tour of the opera house. It is a real eye opener to see all the mechanics and 'window dressing' that it takes to operate the theaters - I work in the business and even I was impressed.

Happy Sails,

Charlie

We hope to be able to tour backstage. My husband was a theatre major and performed live theatre and it's always interesting to go back stage and see the props, sets, etc.

We took a London theatre tour a few years ago and were impressed with the backstage tours that were arranged for us.

The outside of the Opera House is so impressive. I'm sure we'll be excited by whatever we get to see.

Andrea

Andrea,

Both you and your husband will have a ball, but don't expect the guide to be 'all knowing'. We stopped in front of a door marked vomit and she made some snarky comment about no one knowing what it mean, but it was funny. I learned that in first year theater and explained about the whole thing. From that point on, she kept coming back to us for general knowledge info. Telll your hubby to be prepared, unless he wants to be 'in cognito.' Just to be able to see the scene shop and actually touch the props and sets was pretty cool. And what until you see their light booth!

If you'd like more - or photos - email me ckirby@deltacollege.edu

Happy sails!

Charlie

Thanks, I'll give my husband the 'heads up' I never know if he wants to reveal his background or not. Sometimes he keeps it to himself. He used to be an Actor, but while attending the top theatre school on the West Coast of the USA Pasadena Playhouse, he studied every aspect of theatre from production, set design, make artist, and on and on.

We will be watching the Academy Awards tomorrow. Many of your countrymen/women have won Oscars and deservedly so. ( I'm assuming you are from Down Under) but many past Pasadena PlayHouse alum have won them too. Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman to name a few. My husband keeps track, I just like the drama and glamour of the event. Going to the Award show was quite fun, but that was years ago.

Cheers to you,

Andrea

Andrea,

I live in Stockton, CA, just up the road from you, in the beautiful San Joaquin valley. I got some of my training back East, then came out west. My husband wants to immigrate to Aukland, some days more than others. One of my former students is designing on Broadway and another one is in the new Pirate of the Caribbean movie - I kept hoping to get invited to an awards show, but so far nothing! Kids!

You will really enjoy NZ for all the location shots from LoTR - it brought back so many memories for us.

It's well advised to let your husband decide - I just couldn't stand the tech misinformation any longer. Plus I hate it when the technical aspects aren't given the due they deserve. It did sort of make for an odd tour them because the guide kept coming back to us - Chris (DH) said maybe she thought we were a plant to see if she was doing her job. In any event, the Opera House is incredible and you will have so much fun!

Happy Sails!

Charlie

I guess you are a long way from Down Under. Our daughter has talked about moving to NZ. I guess it's a very popular place. We do have friends who have a sister and brother in law living in Christchurch so we'll look them up when we get there.

I'm familiar with Stockton. Do you teach there? My husband gets invited to judge drama festivals at various high schools and colleges. He will miss the next one as we will be away.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Andrea

I was teaching technical theater, with a concentration on set construction and scenic painting until last September. All the years of heavy construciton took their toll and trashed my back. I'm currently on disabilty awaiting surgery. That's the good news. The bad news is that I can't go back to my old job. I am hoping to transfer to another department, but it will never be as much fun as drama was. :(

Does your husband judge for ACTF? We got an honorable mention and two of our students were nominated for Irene Ryans (both lost).

Christchurch is so beautiful! You're lucky to have built-in tour guides there. Make sure you visit the botanical garden! And they have a very active theater group there. It's located across from the gardens - we were able to wrangle a tour while visiting - they were in rep with "Who's AFraid of Virginia Wolfe" and "Hansel and Gretel" on the same set. My best memory is that when you entered, you were up among the lighting instruments. I could imagine putting patrons that close to hot instruments, but I guess codes are different there.

Cheers!

Charlie

This reply is a little late and I'm not sure if you're still checking the boards. I'm not sure of the name of the organization Bob judges for. He told me it's mostly high school but held at college campuses. He has fun with it.

I'm sorry to hear about your circumstances. I hope the surgery goes well, and you can plan many more cruises during your down time. It's going to be hard to find something that compares to your love of drama, so I wish you well.

We leave in 6 days, hard to believe. I've been checking tour books to see if any of the botantical gardens have Koi ponds. My husband is an avid Koi (fancy Karp) hobbyist, and loves to visit gardens with fish ponds. Hawaii is one of his favorite places because of all the fish. I haven't seen anything that talks about fish, but I'm sure we will enjoy all that we see.

Take Care,

Andrea

Hi, Andrea,

Yeah, I check these pretty much every day or so. Sorry, but I don't remember any koi ponds, although Christchruch's Botanical Garden has a beautiful fountain with copper fish sculptures - not as good as the real thing, but it was an incredible fountain.

Ooo, six days, you are so lucky! The weather is so glum here, I'd love to be going somewhere like Australia. You will have a blast! don't forget to post a review and please let me know how you enjoyed the trip (ckirby@deltacollege.edu).

How about the Thespian Society? We've hosted them a number of times and they are a high school organization that stretches the state. They do a numer of workshops, clinics and competitions. That might be the group your husband judged for.

Have a fabulous trip!

Charlie

I guess the copper fish will have to do! His interests are varied, lucky for me, my husband also loves jewelry, so when we are not looking for Koi ponds, enjoying nature, or theatre, we are checking out the jewelry stores. I always come back with something interesting.

I'll drop you a note when we get back and maybe I'll even know what theatre group he judges for.

He volunteers to help with sets, and acts in local theatre, as a hobby, in his spare time. We have a theatre called the Conejo Players, among others. I believe he will be reading for something when we get back.

We will be getting your rain and gloom starting tomorrow. I hope it clears up by Tuesday when we take off as the ride out to LAX is grueling in the best of circumstances.

Take Care,

Andrea

Andrea - Check out the opals in AUS - you can get some really nice ones relatively cheaply, especially if you are jewelry saavy. We were so ovewhelmde that we ended up with nothing - sort of like the pearls in Tahiti - just too much to choose from.

Tell you hubby to break a leg with his audition. You'll ahve to let me know what it is. They just started rehearsing for "Urinetown" at school and "Picnic" at the community theater. The local university is going to Germany (today) with its production of "Assassins." For a smaller city, it always amazes me how much theater we have here - tonight, we head out to see "Chicago" in Sacramento (yawn, not my favorite).

Please do e mail me when you get back and let me know how much fun you had...sigh, we don't leave until July 12 for our cruise...sigh.

Be safe and have a great time!

Charlie

P.S. Sorry about the rain...

My hubby has been studying up on Opals and I do plan on purchasing one. I did get a black pearl necklace in Tahiti as well. I agree it does become overwhelming, but he is a good shopper with a keen eye.

It is pouring right now, but I guess we need it, there is even snow in the local mountains.

Tomorrow is laundry, errands, and list making day and Sunday is major packing.

Bob's last play ( community theatre) was Uncle Jack in Brighton Beach Memoirs. He played Pres. Harding in Camping with Henry and Tom. That's an interesting play. I think the upcoming one is Some Like it Hot. These local theatres are mostly attended by the geriatric population so the plays are pretty safe and of course old to avoid royalties (kinda boring for me, but it's fun for him).

We used to attend quite a bit of live theatre but now we live further away from downtown LA and with the traffic it's nearly impossible to get there.

It looks like we're using this post as our personal e-mail site. Oh well.

I'll send you an e-mail to get you in my address book so I will be sure to send you a note when we get back.

It's been fun corresponding with you,

Andrea

Andrea A - Having just recently returned from OZ/NZ, our Sydney Opera House tour guide told us point blank..."that we should come as we are, there are no dress requirements, although he said some will dress in minks and tuxs, yet others prefer jeans--with a laid-back feeling."

The whole jest of our conversation was that the piece being placed was much more mahnificant than how one is dressed. I thought this to be quite fabulousl

So go as you are--whatever you may be feeling and let the performance fill your spirit with a fabulous era of song and meanings!

Good luck and let me now what you personally observe.

Thanks, Pam

Andrea - I don't know if you'll check before you leave, but I wanted to wish you both a bon voyage and safe passage. Pet a devil for me! Umm, not, not your husband...:D

Charlie

Thanks for the well wishes. I'll pet my devil for me, and the 4 legged one for you!

Looking forward to the koalas, wombats, devils, kiwis and 'roos, Oh My!

Andrea